➫ The following morning, George wakes up in a daze. He was expecting this all to be a dream. The night before barely granted him any sleep, as staff popped in and out of the room with a flashlight shining bright in his face. “Checks”, they would whisper. George follows Glen to the cafeteria where they receive their meal. “Is the food any good here?” He asks Glen. “Let me tell you, this is the best grub in town. Hard to expect with a hospital.” They sit down next to a group of guys who are in the same unit as them. “Who’s this?” One of the men asks with his mouth full. “Oh, this is George. He’s the new guy.” George receives blank stares, and the men return their focus to their food. “Don’t be rude, you guys. Introduce yourselves!” Glen shouts at the men. Two men get up from their seats, grab their trays, and head to a different table. The other four guys ignore him. “Fine, fine, fine, you’ve just made yourselves an enemy! When they catch y’all having intercourse with the ladies from the other unit in your room, don’t come running to me!” Glen sighs and looks at George, “I’m sorry about that. I’m afraid the guys around here aren’t very friendly.” “That’s okay. At least I got stuck with you.” “What do you mean by that?” George stutters on his reply, “Oh-Oh, never mind.”
Soon after George finishes his meal, he is called over by one of the nurses. “The doctor is ready to see you. Please, follow me.” The nurse directs George downstairs, and into a small office with an empty bench. “Please, have a seat. He’ll be with you in a moment.” George has a seat, and peers around the room. The walls are bare, with only one framed picture on the wall. George walks over to the picture, and it reads: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to accept the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” ‘The Serenity Prayer…’ George thinks to himself, ‘We had something like this in the office at work… What is it doing here, in a psychiatric hospital? What does it even mean?’ The doctor eventually calls George back. “Hi, I’m Dr. H. I will be overseeing your stay here. Have a seat.” George has a seat in one of the chairs in front of the Doctor’s desk. “I noticed that you were admiring the little Serenity Prayer we have outside in the waiting area. What do you think of that prayer?” George stutters, “Oh, I-I’m not particularly sure what it means. But it doesn’t have anything to do with me, so what do I care?” The doctor chuckles at his reply. “Anyways, why do you think you’re in here?” George replies, “Well, if I can be completely honest with you, I don’t know why I’m in here. They must have made a mistake… I should be back at the police station… You know-“he leans closer into the doctor, “I killed my son…” The doctor leans back in his chair, “Is that so? And how do you suppose you did that?” “I’m not sure, Doc. All that I know is that you’ve got to get me back to the police station before they come in and kill me for what I’ve done…” The doctor glares at him for a quick second and begins jotting down notes. “Wh-What are you doing?” “I’m taking notes on you. Like we said when you were first brought in here, we are evaluating you.” “Oh, but I’m not crazy, you see-“The doctor quickly interrupts, “So, do you have a family history with mental illness?” “Oh, um, not anything that I’m aware of…” The doctor runs through George’s information with him for about an hour and a half more, and sends him out. “I will see you, same time, in a few more days. Okay George?” “Yeah, great…”
Later that week, the staff and the doctors all come together and go over the evaluations of the newly admitted patients. They finally get to George’s case. “Let’s see here, George. Brought in from a police station after having a severe breakdown which resulted in restraints and sedation… His son just passed… Under the belief that he subconsciously murdered his son… Believes that people are out to kill him for what he’s done…” “Sounds like some pretty bizarre delusions” one of the psychiatrists interrupts, “Has he been suffering with any other abnormal behavior? Problems with self-care? Hallucinations?” The first doctor interrupts her, “Not anything that we’ve seen… But this man is highly delusional, and… dangerous…” “So, what is your diagnosis?” another doctor interrupts. “I haven’t concluded anything… He doesn’t meet the criteria for schizophrenia, he doesn’t meet the criteria for schizo-affective, nor does he meet the criteria for bipolar disorder… he doesn’t really meet the criteria for anything.” “So we’re just going to leave him undiagnosed?” “Well, unless you’re able to come up with something for us to label him with, let me know, otherwise, we may just have to leave him be, and treat him the best we can.” ➬
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Psyched-Out
NonfiksiGeorge just lost his son, Danny, to suicide. But he doesn't know that. Since the note is nowhere to be found while the authorities clean up the scene, it is suspected murder. While at the police station, George becomes extremely delusional, believin...
